With holiday parties, get-togethers, fancy dinners with friends and family, and all sorts of classy events on the horizon now that the holidays are in full swing, you might think that now isn't the best time to buy something as often-consumed as wine. Quite the contrary—according to Ray Isle, executive wine editor of Food and Wine Magazine, after Thanksgiving is the best time to get a highly-rated wine or bubbly at a fraction of its summertime price.

For example, the weeks after Thanksgiving are the best time to pick up a few bottles of champagne, prosecco, or any other sparkling wine or bubbly you're thinking about drinking for New Year's Eve (or any other time through the holiday season.) Sparkling wines aren't the only types on sale either. Isle notes that Beaujolais Nouveau, a type of unaged red that's prized for its pairing with Thanksgiving Dinners, is on steep markdown after Thanksgiving has passed, making it a delicious bargain for wine lovers.

Granted, most of these discounts will last through the holidays, but not too close to the end of the year—after all, you can expect wine distributors to bring the prices of champagne and other sparkling wines back up right before New Year's to catch the last-minute shopper.